Loomio
Sun 26 Aug 2018 7:50PM

Superdelegates in the Democratic Party

SW Sara Wolf Public Seen by 24

This weekend the Democrats voted to strip Superdelegates of some of their power at DNC Convention! This on the heals of a similar proposal that passed this month at the DPO convention. This is a hard-fought win that will go a long way to help us in 2020! It represents years of grassroots organizing within the Democratic party. It is a watered down version of the original proposal. But it's a big first step...

TAKE AWAY:
1) Superdelegates will not vote in the first round of the 2020 POTUS nomination (though they will vote in a second round if nobody wins a majority outright) at the DNC convention.
2) No reduction in the number of superdelegates.
3.) Media may still be able to use superdelegates to paint grassroots candidates as less viable, depending.
4.) The DNC money laundering scheme used by H. Clinton and the Hillary Victory Fund to essentially buy the loyalty of the superdelegates is still legal.
5.) Candidates must declare Democratic party affiliation in writing to the DNC to win the nomination. This is a move to block 3rd party and independent candidates in left from inclusion in the two-party dominated system.

BACK STORY: Democratic Party superdelegates were a central reason why the 2016 presidential primary was rigged in Hillary's favor. With contributions from the Hillary Victory fund in many cases going directly to help fund the campaigns of superdelegates and party insiders it was no surprise that Hillary had an almost insurmountable lead of pledged superdelegate votes before a single voter ever cast their ballot.

Remember that time when Bernie won Wyoming by 12% but despite “losing,” Hillary triumphed 11-7 in the delegate tally? Yeah, that happened. Never again! The fight isn't over!

Sources:
1. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/democrats-vs-trump/democrats-strip-super-delegates-power-reform-caucuses-historic-move-n903866
2. https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/04/01/how-hillary-clinton-bought-the-loyalty-of-33-state-democratic-parties/https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/04/01/how-hillary-clinton-bought-the-loyalty-of-33-state-democratic-parties/
3. https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/25/politics/democrats-superdelegates-voting-changes/index.html
4. https://nypost.com/2016/04/09/bernie-sanders-wins-democratic-caucuses-in-wyoming/
5. https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fpolitics%2Fla-na-clinton-sanders-democrats-20160516-snap-story.html&h=AT1fSwOdkjAUWvb9esIO8t5YowG4o9N9GbOCNGhYe5h2KQGYW2gxi0IYk7Rr6x7hh13gnkEjxIf-uCAqBXBU-g9gY-rheoQvC838b2fHPzexBaZAZNu70KIUkz_RpvO-fUZ001CgeHtqFoDmcFTSnRVYtlsLEJcPBOfrSWAQ-iCsFCQ8OLnl-ejQNdovmlBJexq7UfQkHTbDxtWX9EVGcRsItsDUElzPD9NJR-X9gjB4aYKicaD8otGWSYFgqxYGYcELSA-wscP4Zo9VETDGWeLO6XMTJ2GSFdQ3CnBbj30_zztQNal6im3760_fYgX8DQ1JJgH_6VsuUN8

AZ

Alan Zundel Tue 28 Aug 2018 10:52PM

A small step but a step. They'll have to be more careful in the upcoming Pres campaigns just because they will be under intense scrutiny.

SW

Sara Wolf Wed 29 Aug 2018 12:02AM

This issue surprised many by flaring up racial tensions and debate within the Black Caucus amid accusations that eliminating superdelegates would disenfranchise people of color. Others, including many younger and more progressive Democrats argued the opposite: That superdelegates are disenfranchising people of color already and that reducing or eliminating their influence is critical for fair representation for people of color and for people in general.

The reality is that rarely do people in power ever vote to reduce their own power, but the resolution to reduce the power of superdelegates did pass, after an incredible speech from Nina Turner of Our Revolution. Here's an article on the issue:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dnc-superdelegate-reform-racial-representation-chicago-tom-perez_us_5b80b6afe4b0348586009e99

SW

Sara Wolf Wed 29 Aug 2018 12:40AM

Here's Nina's speech! It's a must watch:
https://www.facebook.com/pdakopolos/videos/10106548395125630/

SW

Sara Wolf Wed 29 Aug 2018 12:43AM

Here's the statistics:
A single superdelegate vote is worth massively more than a normal citizen's vote. Specifically, the vote of one New Hampshire superdelegate is equal to the votes of about 10,000 voters. (1) That is in direct violation of one person one vote, and it's directly disenfranchising the voters if those superdelegates don't vote the same way as the people. Even if they did vote exactly like their voters or if their vote was "pledged" their existence still specifically waters down and skews the results, much in the the same way the electoral collage skews results on the national scale.

These statistics overwhelmingly show that existence of these superdelegates specifically disenfranchises the voters. Including voters who are People of Color.

We can also compare the percentage of PoC in the Democratic Party with their ratio of superdelegates to see that People of Color are directly underrepresented there are well. According to one Gallup poll from 2012, 38% of Democratic Party voters were People of Color, and that's not counting the 28% of Independent/unaffiliated voters who are People of Color and generally vote Democrat. (2) (2012 had higher turnout of people of color than '16, so that's the year we want to assess active voter data.) The number I was looking for was the percentage of Obama voters who were people of color, but I couldn't find it.

According to numbers in Nina Turner's speech at the recent DNC convention, (3) POC superdelegates are only 14% of total superdelegates. (PoC were better represented when you added in pledged delegates who wouldn't be effected by this reform, but they don't factor into this argument.)

In conclusion: Looking at the fact that a single superdelegate vote outweighs a normal voter by a massive proportion, and looking at the fact that Superdelegates of Color are a smaller percentage compared to actual active Democratic voters, it's clear that superdelegates are directly disenfranchising People of Color, just like everyone else. Getting rid of superdelegates would directly empower minority voters and help them be more fairly represented.

1) https://www.politifact.com/.../nhgop-says-superdelegates.../
2) https://news.gallup.com/.../democrats-racially-diverse...
3) https://www.facebook.com/pdakopolos/videos/10106548395125630/